


Change Our World

by Lunarium



Category: A Redtail's Dream (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Estrangement, F/F, Loneliness, Memories, SSSS crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 16:23:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12585888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: An endemic disease threatens the bond between three women in love, but a memory before the wound draws them back together.





	Change Our World

She stood with the axe gripped in her hands. Her eyes regarded Riikka as if they had never warmed before when seeing her. 

“Paju, it’s dangerous out there,” Riikka said. “I had visions of you in that forest. Those creatures are lurking there, and you will be surrounded.” 

Paju scoffed. “Do you really think some god is divining warnings into your head about the future? Why didn’t they have sense enough to warn us of the disease outbreak? Or do something about these—these zombie-monsters or whatever the hell they are.” 

Riikka fidgeted in her spot. “Please don’t speak against the gods. They gave us magic.” 

“They were too late. I have no use for their magic.” 

She marched a few steps into the forest, her rifle slapping against her thigh, and turned back. “Don’t follow me.” 

“But…”

“I’m warning you, Riikka. This isn’t the same as before.” 

“What about Jonna? Don’t you want to see her?” 

Paju halted. Grip loosened, tightened. Her eyes shut tight before something sad passed over her face. 

“She’s lost to us,” Paju said. 

“She’s not lost to me,” Riikka said in a firm tone. “I think you’re just afraid of seeing her again and facing the truth.” 

Paju’s eyes narrowed. “I…”

She never finished the sentence. Turning back she marched away from Riikka and deep into the forest. The darkness swallowed her.

* * *

Riikka never had to worry about the trolls whenever she travelled back to the small village of Hokanniemi. 

The village had changed from how she remembered it three years ago. Although it was always a small village, it was warm and full of life. Always something going on. Now less than half of the inhabitants remained. The other half fled or had died from the disease. A few succumbed to the worst fate and had changed into the feared creatures. Those were being hunted by Paju and other hunters in the dark woods. 

Twigs cracked audibly under her feet. 

The snow fell thick. It was always snowing, but that was a good sign. The cold protected them. 

Lights burned in oil lamps in homes. Heavy storms and cities extinguishing with the disease had meant electricity going out on the small villages. She checked to see if Hannu was in. Even when it was evening he may still be at home. He didn’t like wasting lamp oil unless it was necessary. 

Ville wasn’t there either. He preferred being with Hannu at all times. 

Riikka smiled sadly at the thought. A true loyal friend. 

She rounded a corner and made for the bakery.

* * *

Riikka wasn’t expecting to find Jonna busy with any baking. Business was slim and ingredients even harder to come by. The family only baked upon request. They also opened their shop as long as they could. They never knew when someone would need a cake or some bread. 

Riikka’s kiss wasn’t returned. Jonna’s eyes stared off to some space, but she smiled vaguely and gave an off-hand greeting before stepping aside. “Dad said Tikkanen wanted a cake for the students. I think that’s nice, right? I didn’t know the holiday was coming up.” 

“Yeah? That’s great!” Riikka smiled encouragingly. “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled with it. Your cakes always warmed me up.” 

“Yeah.” After a long pause, Jonna finally stirred again. “I guess I better make it.”

Riikka nodded in encouragement. She helped Jonna set up, having memorized the ingredients after all the times she’s had to give her a hand. Jonna had several other brief moments of spacing out before blinking back to reality and resuming her work. 

She was returning the carton of eggs to the fridge, kept cool by buckets of snow within, when Riikka couldn’t hold it in any longer. 

“I saw Paju earlier. By the forest.” 

Jonna froze. “She’s still doing that?” 

“Hannu is too. It’s okay. Paju is tough. She knows what she’s doing, and she’s keeping the rest of us safe.” 

“But she has magic. Like us. Like us!” 

“She’ll come around to it,” Riikka said, but even she was unsure of that statement.

* * *

Riikka watched the boats pass by with an insulated coffee cup in hand. The breeze blew through her hair, scattering loose strands from her braid. They tickled her face. 

Her aunt approached and they spoke, and a small bundle was handed to her. Riikka embraced her and left. From the other side of the bridge she waved goodbye to her aunt with her free hand. 

The snowy road to the bakery was plowed, clearing the way. Festive music jingled in the air. Warm decadent scents lingered and grew thicker the closer she got to her destination. Light poured from the windows of the bakery. 

Jonna’s laughter mingled with her brother’s as they joked and threw dusts of flour at one another. 

“Riikka!” Jonna said once she saw her. She grabbed her keys and coat and gave Riikka a squeeze, and they spun in the middle of the bakery. She gathered a handful of bread into a bag and shoved them into Riikka’s arms excitedly. 

“Åsa got me cans of fish,” Riikka said in a low voice. 

“Then we’ll need more bread,” Jonna said, and grabbed another loaf under Joona’s disapproving nose. 

“I’m off on my date!” Jonna called out brightly. “Don’t burn the bread too badly, Joona! Don’t have Oona chew on the wires again! Love ya all!” 

Giggling, they ran down the steps and got into Jonna’s car, and seconds later they were off. 

Paju’s school was located at the far edge of the village. While they didn’t need the car to reach her, they needed it for the next part of their trip. 

They found Paju in a terrible state. The day had been long for her. She was clearly ready for the day to end by the way she wore a fake smile just to keep her face from breaking down. 

“Hey!” Riikka and Jonna greeted at once. 

“Please, no pranks, no bullshit, I had one student vomit in the class and another two broke into a fist fight during lunch, and now another’s arguing with me over the failing grade of an eight-three percent!” 

Jonna leaned over and kissed her right on the lips. ‘There. I just sucked all that bad shit right out of you.” 

Riikka was next to kiss her. “And now we’re filling the rest of your day with good things!” 

Paju’s lips quirked into a smile. “I cannot take it with you two sometimes.” 

“If you’re feeling good now, imagine a few hours from now!” Jonna winked. 

They found their way back to Jonna’s car, and Jonna drove them out of town and followed their favorite and familiar trail. Riikka glanced out the window and sighed contently as her vision filled with lines of naked trees. She glanced in the side mirror and saw Paju looking out with a similar expression of contentment. 

Their destination was a hill that overlooked some other small village. The sky was pitch black, the stars bright and beautiful, twinkling and reflecting in the snow and their hair. They rolled out the blankets and the bread and the cans of fish. Paju built a campfire and they huddled next to each other and ate and laughed and looked up at the sky and shared tales about their day. 

When the night drew on and grew colder, they brought out the tent. Huddling inside, they pressed against one another and shared kisses, and let their passion warm their bodies under the winter night. 

In the early dawn they resumed their stargazing before the sun poked out from the horizon. 

Riikka glanced to her right and saw a long rainbow trail, almost like the Northern lights, except that it steeped out of the cold frozen grass. She stood up and walked slowly towards it as her throat began to tickle with the first of signs of tears. 

The other girls behind her did not stir. 

“I never took the rainbow road,” Riikka said. 

“It always ends here,” Jonna said. “Roads to heaven don’t start on earth.” 

All three girls, sleeping in three different beds, opened their eyes.

* * *

Riikka wiped the tears from her eyes. 

It was always the same dream. Jonna’s dream. And each girl was forced to live it with her. The shock of the world’s ending had been met with such denial that Jonna retreated away into her memories. Her magic had awoken, and she used it to set up an impenetrable mindscape. It was just her and her fond memories. She didn’t have to accept reality. She had this dream. The same dream. 

That getaway trip really had happened. It was one of their final happy moments together before the disease spread. When they could still make Paju laugh. When Jonna was full of life. 

When Riikka didn’t feel alone between the two girls. 

“Paju refuses to use her magic,” Riikka said under her breath and sighed. “Jonna used it to hole herself away from the entire world. And I…?” 

She had her visions when she didn’t find herself dragged back into Jonna’s mind. But other than that, she did little. Maybe there would books on magic. She didn’t feel like learning. Not without Jonna and Paju. 

“But I want to help the community,” Riikka thought. “But how do I convince…” 

She glanced up as the idea came to her.

* * *

“Do you remember this?” Riikka asked and turned back to the two girls. 

“It changed,” Jonna said and sat down on the blanket Riikka had laid out for them. 

“Everything changes,” Riikka said. “You used to want to be a nurse. Remember that? And Paju, you used to think you liked only boys. You said you would never kiss a girl. And look at you now: you have two girlfriends!” 

Paju settled before Jonna with her rifle nestled next to her. She refused to look at Jonna. “Yes. So?” 

Riikka said. “We are three witches. Okay, we all have magic, if you don’t want to be called witches! We each reacted to them differently. Jonna, every time something happens that you don’t like, you retreat into something familiar. I remember when you did bad on your entrance exams. You said you preferred the bakery. You never tried again.” 

Jonna shrugged. “I like baking.” 

Riikka smiled. “You could have done both. And Paju, you must have been shocked the first time you realized you were attracted to Jonna.” 

“I think anyone would be shocked to know they were attracted to Jonna,” Paju said with the faintest hint of a smile. Jonna even cracked a smile. 

“And you learned to embrace it. It’s part of who you are. That was years ago. This is the same idea. You’ve learned something new about yourself.” 

“How are you able to handle it?” Paju asked. “How can you handle everything?” 

“Because everything changes and that’s just how life is,” Riikka said. “If it’s not this disease, it would have some bad form of the flu. It happens. It’s always a something going on. And why can’t we have magic? If this is a gift from the gods, then let the gods give us something. I will not turn my back on anything. If it will help us, I will use it.”

She gave them both a smile. “I guess this is how we are all the same. None of us want anything to change our our world. Paju with your denial and rejection of magic. Jonna, with you retreating into your memories. And me? I’m not afraid of change. I embrace it and make it part of my world because the world is always changing.” 

Paju and Jonna’s gazes met, and something passed between them that brought a smile to Riikka. Jonna broke the bread and Paju cracked open the can of fish. Soon they were sharing a meal and talking and laughing, and every now and again checking for any signs of trouble. They head home long before sunset, but no one was bothered by that new arrangement. 

Riikka glanced out the window just as their car pulled away. 

Maybe a road to heaven can start on earth.


End file.
